Naked

Before Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil "they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed."  (Genesis 2:25)  They didn't know they were naked because they didn't know they needed clothing -- they weren't ashamed.  They didn't even understand the concept of clothing because they had nothing to hide.  They were married, living together as one, without separation or conflict.  They lived in a perfect paradise.

Paradise lost

When they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil they were exercising their independence, making a choice to go against the commandment of God.  Though it was an innocent choice, like a three-year-old looking directly at his mother as he eats the chocolate she told him not to eat, they still had to suffer the consequences.  They became subject to evil, and needed to hide their guilt.  Satan told them to put on fig leaves to cover their nakedness and hide from God.

In like manner we put on the fig leaves as suggested by Satan, only to be cast out of Heaven.  In trying to hide our sins from God we hide ourselves from Him.  In fact, it is because we have guilt that we feel the need to hide from everyone.  We put up a facade, that we are OK, but know deep down we are not.  This brings insecurity to our lives.  We clothe ourselves with fear to protect us from discovery, and in doing so shut ourselves out of love on Earth, and in Heaven.  Being cast out into the lone and dreary world, we can connect with neither God nor man.  Upon sensing the loss of innocence some try to go back by exposing their nakedness, as if to say they had nothing to hide, such as joining "nudist colonies" in an attempt to pretend they are back in Eden, innocent and free of sin.  We can try any way we want, but we have no power to undo what has been done -- we cannot go back or ever become innocent again.

It's not God who is keeps us away, it's our own awareness of our unworthiness to be in His presence.  Mormon explains this: "Ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.  For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you."  (Mormon 9:4-5)  We hide because we don't want Him to discover us.  My friend Eddy Hughes had a saying when we were in college, "If you feel far from God... who moved?"  He never leaves us; He knows us intimately because we are naked before Him.  Those who cry, "judgmental!" are merely convicted by their own conscience.

When we metaphorically put on the fig leaves to hide from God, we are only pretending to hide.  We cannot hide our sins from Him who knows all things.  Like the little child who thinks he has successfully hidden his rebellion, but has chocolate smeared all over his face, we come to the Lord naked, as He told the rebellious church in Laodicia, "thou sayest, I.. have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art... naked."  (Revelation 3:17)  Though you have all things of this world, you are still naked before God.

Cover your nakedness

The only way out of this dilemma is through the Lord, Jesus Christ.  The Gospel is the step-by-step instructions back to God: believe, develop faith in Him, repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit.  As we are in this process we need to repent continually.  In the meantime He gives us a covering for our sins, allowing us to have the guidance of the Holy Ghost.   As we follow His plan we can eventually be forgiven, sanctified, and have no more to hide.  We can then "come boldly unto the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:16) because there is nothing to inhibit us.  We will feel comfortable in the presence of a just and holy God.

The "clothing" the Lord gives us to hide our stains as we repent are the covenants we make with Him.  For example, baptism for the remission of sins doesn't immediately make us clean, but rather the covenant allows for a covering while we repent.  "Remission" is a term that means our sins still exist, they are just in remission, covered or invisible, so nobody sees them -- not even God.  With this covering for our sins we can "come boldly unto the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:16) in His name.  This is why Adam was told, "thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.  (Moses 5:8)  We cannot go to God in our own name, because we aren't worthy, and we can't cover our own sins.  We must do everything in the name of Jesus Christ.

Endure to the end

Those who continue in repentance receive the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, cleansing them of sin.  If they endure to the end they are clothed with power and authority, and "are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies."  (D&C 84:33)  They become the "elect" of God.  The Lord has said, "if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God."  (D&C 14:7)  To "endure" means more than just "suffer through," but rather indicates staying in the covenant, or keeping the commandments, until you are finished or as Jesus says "perfect."  "I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect."  (3 Nephi 12:48).  Paul says, "they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize."  (1 Corinthians 9:24)  In the Lord's race everyone who finishes gets the same prize.  No matter how long it takes, all we need to do is finish, like our Lord.

The end is the final judgment, or the resurrection.  The Prophet Jacob tells us that when we come to this point, "we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness."  (2 Nephi 9:14)  The wicked are naked, whereas the righteous are clothed with "the robe of righteousness" or the garment of Christ.  We can't cover our own nakedness; in the end either we are clothed by Him, or we will stand ashamed and naked.